Shreyas Iyer’s plight against the short ball was one of the major concerns when he was leading Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022. The issue was highly discussed by the experts and the opposition bowlers repeatedly highlighted the weakness. As the right-handed batsman arrived in England for the rescheduled Edgbaston Test, the hosts took advantage of the gray area and head coach Brendon McCullum devised a plan.
The former Kiwi captain has watched Iyer closely in the IPL and was well aware of his weakness against the shorter balls. Iyer came out to bat on Monday after Pujara’s fall. As Iyer headed towards the pitch, the camera was focused on McCullum in the balcony, who was seen making some gestures, signaling his bowlers to go for short-pitched deliveries.
Brendon McCullum straight up asked England to go for a short ball strategy against Shreyas Iyer. pic.twitter.com/rMGluifmMM
— mufaddal vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) 4 July 2022
Following the instructions, the England bowlers hit Iyer’s ribs with ball 1 itself. Instead of ducking or blocking him, the Indian batsman went after him and the move served to collect two boundaries in three balls.
The British continued with short deliveries to make Iyer uncomfortable. The latter, however, hit a boundary off Matthew Potts’ delivery, but died on the very next delivery attempting to pay off the pull shot. It was a foul shot that went straight to James Anderson at mid-wicket who completed his 100th catch in Test matches.
fell into the trap
Scorecard/Clip: https://t.co/jKoipF4U01
#Engwind pic.twitter.com/qLwRAnJs82
– England Cricket (@englandcricket) 4 July 2022
India kept giving England easy wickets but Rishabh Pant’s half-century allowed them to extend their lead to 361 runs by the lunch session. Pujara, who reached the 50-run mark on Sunday, was hardly bothered by the English pacers. Pant and Pujara’s job got easier as Ben Stokes conceded three overs to part-timer Joe Root after the start of the game.
The Saurashtra batsman, however, contributed to his downfall by cutting a short and wide delivery from Stuart Broad straight to backward point. It’s his pet shot but couldn’t put it down for a change.
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